4 ms·

> How do you disseminate that the information that "look guys, bicycles are fragile too" to ten of thousands of logistics workers? A 3 paragraph email.

function_seven 10y ago
My apologies if I failed to detect humor here. But in my experience a 3 paragraph email usually get's the message to about 10% of the audience. The other 90% will either not read it, read it but not take it very seriously, maybe they take it seriously at first, but then the effect wears off, etc. Especially if there are dozens of competing memos going out each month. A photo of a TV on the side of the box tells the worker right then and there that this is both expensive and delicate, handle with care. It does it more than even "FRAGILE" does, because that's been abused to death already. I suppose if everybody starts claiming their boxes are TVs, then the effect will wane as well. But this is way more effective than an easily-ignored memo.
civilian 10y ago
Sarcasm? Reading comprehension for emails is so bad. And these are blue collar workers that you're targeting. If anything I'd have it be an item in a weekly team meeting, but don't you think these workers are _always_ hearing the same thing? "Hey guys, HQ said we need to break less stuff. I know we're only at 0.2% breakage but corporate says we can do better." They probably don't really give a shit, or are already doing their best, and the picture on a box targets their subconscious.
- thaumasiotes 10y ago
  If they were already doing their best, a picture on the side of the box wouldn't improve their performance.
  - function_seven 10y ago
    It sure would. When "their best" is some tradeoff between speed and care. If the workers treat every single package as if it were a Ming Dynasty vase, then their throughput will drop through the floor and that won't be their best. If they treat every single package as if it were a box of rocks, then their breakage rate will skyrocket. That also won't be their best. Putting the TV on the side of the box tells the worker to slide the scale closer to avoiding breakage and away from moving fast.
    - civilian 10y ago
      ^ Couldn't have said it better. Best != perfect, it's always some kind of Nash equilibrium that makes the best tradeoffs available.
    - thaumasiotes 10y ago
      By your own hypothesis, putting the picture on the side of the box leads to worse performance, not better performance.
      - function_seven 10y ago
        It leads to slower handling time on that package, and greater care for that package. Going back to the original comment in this thread, it does so in a way that's far more effective than a policy email would. It's not clear that the overall performance is degraded or enhanced by this technique.

function_seven 10y ago

My apologies if I failed to detect humor here. But in my experience a 3 paragraph email usually get's the message to about 10% of the audience. The other 90% will either not read it, read it but not take it very seriously, maybe they take it seriously at first, but then the effect wears off, etc. Especially if there are dozens of competing memos going out each month. A photo of a TV on the side of the box tells the worker right then and there that this is both expensive and delicate, handle with care. It does it more than even "FRAGILE" does, because that's been abused to death already. I suppose if everybody starts claiming their boxes are TVs, then the effect will wane as well. But this is way more effective than an easily-ignored memo.

civilian 10y ago

Sarcasm? Reading comprehension for emails is so bad. And these are blue collar workers that you're targeting. If anything I'd have it be an item in a weekly team meeting, but don't you think these workers are _always_ hearing the same thing? "Hey guys, HQ said we need to break less stuff. I know we're only at 0.2% breakage but corporate says we can do better." They probably don't really give a shit, or are already doing their best, and the picture on a box targets their subconscious.

thaumasiotes 10y ago
If they were already doing their best, a picture on the side of the box wouldn't improve their performance.
- function_seven 10y ago
  It sure would. When "their best" is some tradeoff between speed and care. If the workers treat every single package as if it were a Ming Dynasty vase, then their throughput will drop through the floor and that won't be their best. If they treat every single package as if it were a box of rocks, then their breakage rate will skyrocket. That also won't be their best. Putting the TV on the side of the box tells the worker to slide the scale closer to avoiding breakage and away from moving fast.
  - civilian 10y ago
    ^ Couldn't have said it better. Best != perfect, it's always some kind of Nash equilibrium that makes the best tradeoffs available.
  - thaumasiotes 10y ago
    By your own hypothesis, putting the picture on the side of the box leads to worse performance, not better performance.
    - function_seven 10y ago
      It leads to slower handling time on that package, and greater care for that package. Going back to the original comment in this thread, it does so in a way that's far more effective than a policy email would. It's not clear that the overall performance is degraded or enhanced by this technique.